As a fan of film music I love it when a film series manages
to create wonderful and engaging music with each installment. It is a rare
thing, but us film score fans celebrate when it happens… usually by buying
another special edition CD. But I digress.
The rebooted Planet of the Apes films that started
with Rise of the Planet of the Apes
in 2011, have some pretty great music to go along with them. Two of my favorite
composers worked on these movies, and I figured it was time to share some of
the interesting work they composed for the three films.
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| Patrick Doyle conducts. |
Rise of the Planet of
the Apes was directed by Rupert Wyatt with music composed by Patrick Doyle.
This was a little strange because I always associate Doyle with his work for
Kenneth Branagh. His scores for Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations are some of
my favorite pieces from that type of film. But Doyle is a skilled composer and
over the years he has provided excellent scores for animated films, military
dramas and fantasy films. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from the composer,
except that it would probably be lush with lots of great melodic pieces and
some real power in the orchestra.
And that is where things went totally different from what we
all expected. Doyle’s score actually had a very modern blockbuster sound, like
something that would come out of Hans Zimmer’s composing studio. It was
aggressive, heavy of the drums and repeating motifs. You could still hear some
of Doyle’s style in there, but it really seemed like he was asked to ape the
modern blockbuster trends that were making Transformers
scores popular.
Doyle later confirmed that this was the case. He was
restricted to a particular sound, and did his best to work within it. The
result is that Rise of the Planet of the
Apes is an interesting and effective modern score. Doyle’s style gives it
different flavor, and when he is able to go grand and lush he does so with
skill. But I still feel like Doyle is held back a little on this score, as
solid as it is.
Here is a good action piece for when Caesar and his apes
attempt to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
Doyle gives it a propulsive modern feel, but the tension works very well.
For the majestic side, here if the final track from the
album, Ceasar’s Home where Caesar
climbs to the top of the trees with his followers and looks out over the city.
Doyle builds the track with power and beauty that matches the victorious
feeling the scene.
When Matt Reeves took over directorial duties for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes he
brought over the composer who had supported him on his previous two films:
Michael Giacchino. This film was going to have a few issues that the previous
one didn’t have. There were large portions of the film with no audible
dialogue, as the apes converse using gestures and glances. In these cases
Giacchino was going to not just support but craft the emotion of these scenes with his music.
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| Giacchino has really gone ape! |
Now, I’m a big fan of Giacchino. He is one of my favorite
composers working today, so yeah I’m a little biased to liking these scores and
all the interesting things he tries. Luckily he was not tied to studio demands
that the score sound modern. Instead Giacchino was able to actually make some
musical nods to Jerry Goldsmith’s groundbreaking score from the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. Giacchino used
creative percussion, unique wind instruments and gave the whole score a much
more primal and discordant feel. This means that the score can sound a little
less approachable than Doyle’s effort. But I think it gives Dawn the right score for its darker
tone.
Dawn actually
ends up having two themes that evolve and battle throughout the score. The
martial one for Koba, the human hating ape, gets some real highlights. The
massive Gorilla Warfare track follows
Koba’s attack on the human compound in San Francisco. It is an aggressive track
that builds, batters and decimates the listener, all the while using Koba’s
theme as the driving engine, even deconstructing it at times. The wailing
choral voices as Koba commandeers an armored vehicle are especially chilling.
One of the most impressive pieces is what I like to think of
as the Apes Hope theme. This one carries into the next score as well, but we
get a wonderful presentation of it early in the score with The Great Ape Processional. It is a simple tune, but one that
proves to be very malleable over the tow movies, sounding triumphant,
contemplative and even tragic as the movies progress. And yes, Giacchino goes ape with his primate puns for the
titles. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
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| Giacchino and Reeves consult in a hidden location. |
War for the Planet ofthe Apes gave Giacchino a chance to expand on his themes and concepts he
created in Dawn. While there are
still moments of primal drumming and dark underscore bubbling with tension,
there are also more new themes that really get a full workout in the score.
Because of this War is actually a
more vibrant score even if the movie is much darker.
Giacchino keeps the Goldsmithian touches with unique
percussion and wind instruments, but they are less discordant in this score. As
the ape’s civilization grows, so does the score. There are a lot of great
moments in the music, but I really like the new theme for the hunt that
Giacchino introduces. It is used several times as Caesar and his crew of apes
track down the Colonel. It has a Morricone western feel to it. The theme works
like gangbusters in the film, and The
Posse Polanaise showcases it as a type of march at the end of the track.
Perhaps the most memorable moment in the film and the score
is the finale. Caesar tragedy comes full circle, and for all that he has
sacrificed and suffered his people have a new home. Paradise Found gives us the Apes Hope theme from Dawn and gives us a wonderful
triumphant and yet sad version of the theme. Giacchino builds the score along
with the scene as two apes discuss the future, and it ends the score in a
satisfying way.
While part of me wishes that Doyle or Giacchino had been
brought in from the start and had been able to develop themes and ideas over
the course of all three films, the other half of my brain says, “Shut up! You
got three great scores with three great movies.” Of the three, I think War may be my favorite. I love the
variety Giacchino brings to it, and how he weaves and explores the ideas he
crafted in the previous score. But that said, all three are worthy albums for
anyone who enjoys the more primal side of film scores. Combined with
Goldsmith’s masterpiece for Planet of
the Apes and you have one hell of a playlist.
Bonus track, The Hunt from Goldsmith’s primal score.
